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Monday, October 23, 2017

Can 16 Year Olds Find A Job Anymore?

When I was a teenager, I knew that I had to work! It wasn't a choice, it was necesary for me to be able to drive. My parents also wanted to teach me responsbility, which is so important at that age, and because of that...I got a job the summer of my Junior Year (when I was 16), which turned into a full time job my Senior Year (working 3:00pm-11:00pm everyday after school) as an x-ray clerk.

The world is not the same now, as it was when I was 16...OBVIOUSLY!

There were no companies coordinated with this feature. I was not offered any monetary compensation by posting about his first job search experience.

We have a 16 year old son (even though he is only a sophomore). He's smart, capable, handsome, creative, not super motivated (he just needs the right type of positive encouragement), and who needs to find some sort of employment to save money to buy a car, pay for gas, pay for his monthly car insurance and also so he can start dating if he wants. All of this costs $$ and all of it requires him to push himself out of his comfort zone to walk into a place, shake hands with a stranger, look them in the eye and ask (almost beg) for them to give him his first work opportunity.

So who hires a 16 year old with NO work experience?

What types of companies are willing to give a young man the chance to step into his first experience with work responsbility, with earning & saving money he makes, with filing taxes, etc?

We spent this last Saturday morning driving around to places close to our homes (so he can walk, ride a bike or easily be dropped off/picked up) who have "help wanted" signs in their store fronts. He also went into places that didn't. He learned that some places won't hire under 18 year olds. He also learned how to fill out an online application, do a personality/character test, etc. We even created a resume for him to leave with each place he went into, even tough he has zero work experience so far. He dressed nice, put on some cologne and styled his hair just right.

It was awesome seeing his confidence build after every interaction.

I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE PROUD OF HIM!!

He was brave, focused and the NEW confidence I saw spreading across his face made it worth it for sure!

He needed this so much!

He is the first of our kids to start this process and I am hoping that it turns out to not only be a positive experience...but also encourages the younger kids too.

So we will see...if a 16 year old can still get hired for a job with zero work experience!

My hope is that he will get a call, start interviewing and that this will be the start of him growing into more responsbility and becoming more motivated towards his future goals.

I was not paid to feature this post! I was not compensated in any way by posting about this.